Fun Facts About the Name Valley
- 931 babies named Valley: U.S. records list 931 babies given the name Valley from 1880 through 2025. Even 56 boys received the name Valley - about 1 boy for every 16 girls.
What Does the Name Valley Mean?
Valley is an English word name meaning "a lowland between hills or mountains." It comes from the ordinary English noun valley, which was borrowed from Anglo-French valee and Old French val, both from Latin vallis (also written valles), "valley."
Two routes can sit behind the given name. One is direct: the landscape word itself, chosen as a name. The other is through the English surname Valley, a topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a valley. The Latin vallis is not related to the Latin verb valere, "to be strong," which stands behind names such as Valerie and Valens; the resemblance is only in spelling.
Valley Name History & Origins
The word valley entered English in the Middle English period, borrowed from the Anglo-French spoken in England after the Norman Conquest. It largely replaced the older Old English words for the same landform, dæl ("dale") and denu ("valley," the source of the modern word dean).
Topographic surnames of this kind - Vale, Vall, Valley - became established in England in the later Middle Ages, describing a person who lived in or by a valley, and they traveled to North America with English emigration. Some of these surnames are English coinages from the common noun; others may descend from the French Vallée or the Italian Valle, and the two origins can be hard to separate in records.
Valley is uncommon as a first name. It belongs to the modern English habit of turning ordinary words, especially landscape words, into given names, and it is used mostly for girls in the United States, sometimes as a way of carrying a family surname. The word itself has familiar associations that give it weight: it appears in the King James translation of Psalm 23 ("though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death") and forms part of many American place names, from the Shenandoah Valley to Silicon Valley.
How Popular is the Name Valley?
Valley has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,128 in 1888.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,131 | 207 | 0.0129% |
| 2024 | #1,520 | 142 | 0.0088% |
| 2023 | #2,580 | 69 | 0.0043% |
| 2022 | #3,643 | 43 | 0.0026% |
| 2021 | #3,487 | 45 | 0.0027% |
| 2020 | #6,302 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 2019 | #6,995 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2018 | #8,572 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #7,812 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #7,956 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #14,386 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #10,901 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #11,898 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #16,711 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #9,744 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #20,392 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #13,656 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #15,671 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #11,268 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #10,558 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #7,801 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #6,535 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #5,813 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #6,980 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #6,045 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #5,713 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #5,266 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1940 | #3,192 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1939 | #4,898 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1934 | #3,139 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #4,812 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #4,921 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #3,376 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #4,686 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,756 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1923 | #5,673 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1922 | #2,762 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1921 | #2,925 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1920 | #2,881 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1919 | #3,205 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1918 | #4,772 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1917 | #3,067 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1916 | #4,369 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1912 | #3,404 | 5 | 0.0009% |
| 1910 | #2,126 | 7 | 0.0018% |
| 1909 | #2,529 | 5 | 0.0014% |
| 1908 | #2,086 | 6 | 0.0018% |
| 1907 | #1,632 | 8 | 0.0025% |
| 1904 | #1,472 | 8 | 0.0029% |
| 1901 | #1,926 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1888 | #1,128 | 7 | 0.0039% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,896 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #10,796 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,969 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1928 | #3,065 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1927 | #4,186 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #4,320 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #4,917 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,941 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1914 | #2,896 | 7 | 0.0011% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Valley Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are fixed in your opinions, firm in your friendships and square in your dealings with others. You are an excellent worker. Since you are both possessive and emotional, you can be either very practical or very impractical and unpredictable. Your dual nature needs to become steadfast. You are the marrying kind. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Valley's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Valley's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.